See a star being born and more — August’s best science images

Rainbow ring. The JWST’s near-infrared camera has captured the Ring Nebula in unprecedented detail. The doughnut-shaped astronomical object, formed by a star throwing off its outer layers as it runs out of fuel, is about 770 parsecs (2,500 light years) away from Earth, in the constellation of Lyra. The image shows intricate details of the structure of the nebula’s rings (coloured pink and orange), which are made up of hot gases.

Aerial view of a red roofed house that is untouched by fire damage, surrounded by destroyed homes and buildings

Credit: Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty

Sole survivor. Wildfires have devastated the Hawaiian island of Maui, taking more than 100 lives and causing billions of dollars of damage. It is thought that renovations last year helped this house in Lahaina to survive, while others around it were burnt to the ground. The owners of the 100-year-old property had replaced the asphalt roof with a metal one and removed some of the surrounding foliage, both of which could have helped to prevent it catching fire.

During low tide, a coral reef is perfectly mirrored on the surface.

Credit: Gabriel Barathieu/Ocean Photographer of the Year

Coral reflections. This snap of a coral reef near Mayotte Island in the Indian Ocean — a finalist in the Oceanographic’s ocean photographer of the year competition — was a challenge for underwater photographer Gabriel Barathieu. To capture the reef’s mirror-like reflection on the surface of the water required a moment of complete stillness at low tide. “I had to completely exhale the air from my lungs so that I would sink without stirring up any sediment,” says Barathieu. “I waited in expiratory apnoea for at least a minute before taking the shot with a perfect angle of the camera.”

The newly described tarantula species (Chaetopelma persianum) seen in a defensive posture.

Credit: Kari Kaunisto (CC BY)

Golden hair. This is Chaetopelma persianum: a newly described species of tarantula found by nature enthusiasts in the Zagros Mountains of Iran. Its woolly, golden hairs are so unusual that it was clear from a single specimen that the spider belonged to a new species. The discovery extends the known range of Chaetopelma spiders by almost 350 kilometres eastwards, and is the first record of the genus in Iran.

Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite images of the Ariana lagoon, Tunisia in drought.

Credit: European Union, Copernicus Sentinel-2 imagery

The disappearing lake. The lakes and coastal lagoons of Tunisia are suffering the effects of high temperatures and prolonged drought. The Ariana Lagoon near Tunis vividly shows the ongoing crisis. Images captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites in August 2021 (left) and 2023 (right) show how the lagoon, an important nesting site for migratory birds that was once teeming with life, has almost completely dried up.

The Herbig-Haro 211 system seen here in a near-infrared camera image taken by the JWST.

Credit: DIAS, JWST/MIRI and ESA

Newborn star. This is one of the most advanced images ever taken of a star being born. The shot, captured by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), shows jets of hot material flowing from Herbig-Haro 211-mm, one of the youngest stars known to scientists. “When a star comes into being, it emits highly supersonic beams of matter that can stretch for several light years,” says Tom Ray, an astronomer at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. Typical jets contain matter in atomic form, either neutral atoms or ions. “The very-youngest stars appear to emit beams of almost pure molecules, contrary to what astronomers thought before, and move very slowly,” says Ray. The star itself sits in the dark gap near the centre of the image, obscured by dust.

A satellite image showing Hurricane Hilary approaching Southern California

Credit: Nesdis/Star/NOAA/Planet Pix via ZUMA Press

Hurricane Hilary. Satellite images taken by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in mid-August showed a massive storm system off the Pacific coast of Mexico, prompting authorities to issue the first ever tropical storm warning for southern California. The storm — named Hilary — made landfall in northern Mexico on 20 August and later moved through California and Nevada, bringing strong winds and record rainfall that led to flash flooding in some areas.

An aerial view of researchers conducting a necropsy of a beached humpback whale

Credit: Submitted by Professor Paul Thompson, photo captured by James Bunyan from Tracks Ecology

Whale autopsy. Researchers investigate the death of a humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) that was stranded on a beach in northeast Scotland. They concluded that the animal probably drowned. “Post-whaling recovery of North Atlantic humpback whale populations has led to increases in sightings of this species in UK coastal waters, but this also raises the risk of entanglement in coastal waters,” says Paul Thompson, a zoologist at the University of Aberdeen, UK. The shot, captured using a drone, was a runner-up in this year’s BMC Ecology and Evolution image competition.

Local residents cross the street to attend a baseball game during a 27 days long heat wave, in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.

Credit: Carlos Barria/Reuters

Summer days. The city of Phoenix, Arizona, has had temperatures above 43 °C for 31 consecutive days, breaking a record it set in 1974. Images captured using a heat-sensitive camera reveal the extent of the sweltering heat, with outdoor surfaces and concrete on the road getting as hot as 66 °C and outdoor-workers’ bodies reaching 41 °C.

One of a kind. A spot-free baby giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) born at a zoo in Tennessee is thought to be the only living giraffe in the world without the characteristic patches that make a unique pattern on each animal. The all-brown female’s rare colouring is caused by a genetic mutation, and she is otherwise “healthy and normal”, the zoo says. The last time the birth of a spotless giraffe was reported was in 1972 at a Tokyo zoo.